I look at the roadside and see good grazing, at a fallen tree and see a jump. My phone autodials the farrier and my Mini hauls feed, so naturally my blog is about horses.

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Chap of my dreams

I don’t believe in answering the phone while riding, but it is certainly a good idea to have it along when you go out on the trail – and not in your saddlebag, either, in case you get separated from the horse. Holders that go around your boot are just one more thing to deal with, or to get snagged, so this seems like a brilliant solution. Of course they don’t have them in tall sizes… even at the manufacturer’s website. Oh well – maybe they will work for you.

What I like about the half chaps is that it is a stunningly simple solution obviously designed by a real world horse person at a competitive price.

A lot of great riding apparel is designed by actual equestrians looking for more comfort in the saddle. The now-ubiquitous Terrain boot from Ariat is great example – I have three pairs in differing stages of decay – I just can’t bring myself to throw the old ones away because they are so comfortable. Ariat is based in California and was founded by two women executives from the sports shoe industry who decided to bring that knowledge to their own favorite pasttime.

Kerrits is another Pacific Northwest brand (Hood River, Oregon), as is Toklat (Lake Oswego, Oregon) and Fits (Portland, OR) . I suspect many of their products are manufactured elsewhere – the Northwest has convenient shipping from the Asian side of the Pacific – but it is interesting to see that these brands are effecting a sea change in what riders wear, at least around the barn if not in the show arena. Smooth Stride is based in Boise, Idaho, and produces their women’s riding apparel there as well.

Clearly we are in a hotbed of equestrian design. So next time you have one of those conversations about, “wouldn’t it be great if they made….” and you have an ounce of entrepreneurial skill, go ahead, make it!

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..